


Just Stay Strong

by a1_kitkat



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blackouts, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Titles, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Malex, Mind Control, Not Beta Read, Protective Kyle, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 14:33:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18573445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Set right before the reveal of the fourth alien.... said alien manages to take control of Michael and uses him to hurt Alex in the worst way imaginable





	Just Stay Strong

**Author's Note:**

> It’s my birthday and the one thing I crave in fan fiction is non-con / hurt-comfort angst!!!  
> Please don’t hate me for this!!!

It was mid afternoon when Alex pulled up outside Michael’s air stream. The entire junkyard was deserted but the trailer was slightly askew which led him to the conclusion that Michael was in the bunker below. He’d sounded over excited on the phone so Alex pulled out his and dialed his number. Michael answered on the second ring.

 

“Guerin, where are you?” He asked.

“Downstairs” Michael replied. “Come down here, you need to see this!”

 

The call ended abruptly and Alex simply stared at his phone, shaking his head in disbelief. The trailer moved again to reveal the hatch. Alex looked around to make sure there were absolutely no witnesses then he moved towards the hatch which also opened on its own. He carefully made his way down the ladder and found Michael hunched over the workbench at what he believed to be the console of his ship. A pang of guilt shot through Alex as he thought of the piece he was still in possession of. He knew he would have to own up to it eventually but from what he could see, Michael was still a long way from completion.

 

“Guerin” he greeted him “what was so important? What do I need to see?”

 

Michael instantly turned and smiled at Alex.

“This” he said as his friendly smile turned into a smirk and he pulled his shirt off over his head, dropped it on the floor. Alex simply stared at him, a rather unamused expression on his face.

 

“Guerin” he started to protest as Michael stepped closer to him.

This wasn’t what he meant when he’d told Michael he wanted to start over, for them to be friends. He took a step back but that only encouraged Michael to step forward again.

 

When Michael reached up, placed his hand on Alex’s cheek, he felt his resolve crumbling. When Michael leaned closer and kissed him, Alex surrendered completely and wrapped his arms around his naked waist, pulled him close and deepened the kiss. He knew he needed to be strong, needed to put a stop to this but he wanted it, wanted him.

 

“No” Alex murmured into Michael’s mouth “we can’t”

“We can” Michael replied.

“No!” Alex said again.

 

He held firm and pulled away from Michael, looked into his eyes but he didn’t appear hurt or disappointed. Alex swallowed nervously.

“This isn’t right” he said “we should take things slow, really get to know each other”

“We already know each other” Michael protested.

“Guerin, please?”

 

Michael was undeterred and simply moved towards Alex again, who instinctively took a step back. They did this three more times until Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. He didn’t have time for this, not right now.

 

“Guerin, stop” Alex hissed as Michael started to circle him, like a shark in the water and Alex was his prey.

 

When Alex felt his belt loosening, his hands reached for the waistband of his pants and he growled at Michael, told him to grow up. His belt came free of his pants and flew across the room into Michael’s outstretched hand.

 

“This is ridiculous” Alex snapped.

 

He turned his back on Michael and started towards the ladder, planning to make a swift exit. Alex placed his hand on the rung and started up but on the second step, he heard a sharp snap and he tumbled, fell to the ground with a loud thud. He growled in annoyance and hastened to roll up his pant leg. His prosthetic had snapped clean in two.

 

Alex looked up and found Michael standing over him, the belt still in his hand. For a brief moment, his mind played a trick on him and the man towering above him was no longer Michael but his father. The snap of the belt caused him to flinch but he shook his head while holding it high.

 

“What the Hell, Guerin?” Alex snapped in annoyance. “Do you have any idea how expensive these things are?”

 

Michael tilted his head from one side to the other as he stared down at Alex. He sank to his knees while continuing to leer down at the other man. Michael reached out, placed his hand in Alex’s hair and painfully pulled his head back to force him to look up at him.

 

Alex stared into Michael’s determined eyes but he flinched when he couldn’t see any sign of his former love behind those hazel orbs. Something was wrong with Michael! It had to be; he knew Michael would never do something like this to him, would never damage something Alex relied on.

 

Instinct kicked in but Alex was already at a disadvantage. All he could think to do was lash out and he spat in Michael’s face but Michael retaliated by slapping him across the face with his own belt. It stung and not just physically. Alex tried to pull away but there was no where for him to go as he couldn’t even stand up. There was no way he could make it up the ladder. 

 

Michael didn’t say a word; his fingers curled through Alex’s hair, tugging and once again making him wince. This was stupid, he couldn’t just sit here and let Michael taunt him like this. He started to reach for the broken prosthetic, thought maybe he could attempt to use it as a defensive weapon but, with no warning, it slid across the room and way out of his grasp.

 

Then his body was rising, moving up so he was floating and Michael was smirking. Alex yelled and tried to lash out as the belt moved of its own accord and wrapped around his wrists, tying them together and affixing themselves to one of the ladder rungs.

 

Alex struggled to maintain his balance on one leg and was forced to lean his weight against the ladder. Michael came up behind him and began to place kisses upon his neck. He couldn’t use his arms or his leg to defend himself so he tossed his head back and headbutted him.

 

Michael yelped and Alex turned to see him clutching his nose, blood seeping down his face. His relief was short lived for Michael immediately moved back toward him and roughly shoved him into the ladder. Alex lashed out again, tried to push him away with his body. Michael took a step back and Alex gasped as the button and zip of his pants parted on their own.

 

“Guerin!” Alex screamed in shock.

He tried to move away but stumbled off balance. His one leg began to ache from the weight and pressure of supporting himself.

 

Michael pressed his body against Alex’s; his hand snaked around Alex’s throat and he swallowed back his fear, having lost count of the amount of times his father had grabbed him like so. His pants and underwear dropped to his ankles on their own or more likely from Michael’s telekinetic powers then Michael’s hand slapped his ass cheek.

 

‘Fuck’ Alex murmured to himself. This was so humiliating for a decorated war hero. Though under other circumstances, Michael spanking him would probably be a turn on. Right now, he was just angry. He should have been able to prevent this, to stop this. He should have put up more of a fight as soon as Michael had started acting weird but he’d had no reason to doubt him, to think Michael would do something like this.

 

Alex threw his entire weight back into Michael to knock him off guard. It worked but only for a moment; he tried to free his hands in the few seconds it took for Michael to regain his footing but stopped when something sharp pressed against his neck and he looked down to see the knife blade so close to his skin.

 

He swallowed nervously, eyes filled with tears as he remembered all the times his father had held a knife this close to him, had even admitted this to Michael just recently. The blade moved just enough to break the skin but he didn’t flinch, not until he felt Michael’s hands on him.

 

Alex told himself they weren’t Michael’s hands, that it  _ wasn’t _ Michael doing this to him but it was so hard to not believe it when those hands were so familiar to him. When Michael slapped him, he clenched his hands into fists and tried to break the bonds of the belt.

 

Michael leaned into him, his teeth scraped along Alex’s neck and he winced; tried to elbow him in the stomach but his arm wouldn’t move. The teeth plunged into his skin, marking him and Alex flinched again. When Michael’s hand closed over his mouth, finger forcing its way past his lips, Alex bit down, hard.

 

This caused Michael to yelp then he slapped his other hand across Alex’s mouth and nose, almost enough to restrict his oxygen intake but his other hand moved lower on Alex’s body. He closed his eyes, braced himself for Michael to slap his cheek again but what Michael did instead caused Alex to scream in utter pain.

 

*****

 

Kyle was convinced the spreadsheet he was staring at, had been staring at for the better part of an hour, was causing him to go cross eyed. He reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose while praying for  _ any _ kind of distraction to pull him away from this wretched computer.

 

When his phone started to ring, he practically squealed with delight and snatched it up. He’d even settle for a telemarketer right now but frowned when he saw Alex’s name on the screen.

 

“Manes?” He was confused “not bailing on me tonight, are you?”

“K… Kyle?” Alex gasped.

He could hear the pain in his voice, was on his feet in an instant.

“Alex? What happened? Where are you? Are you hurt?”

 

Kyle hit save then slammed the laptop closed, picked it up and was halfway to the door before he heard a response from him.

 

“You have to… to tell Max” Alex began “tell Max to… to find Michael and… he needs help”

“Alex, what happened? Where are you?”

“Go to Max, Liz, Isobel… someone! Tell them to help Michael… He’s not himself”

“Where are you?”

“Promise you’ll tell Max? Kyle, my phone is about to-“

 

The call ended abruptly and Kyle frowned. He immediately tried to call him back but it simply went to voicemail. Kyle tried over and over as he made his way to his car. He tried to call Liz but there was no answer so he headed straight to the Crashdown where he found Liz working and Max drinking a milkshake.

 

Kyle went straight up to Max and sat down next to him.

“So I just got the weirdest phone call” he said, no hello or any other pleasantries “from Manes. He insisted I tell you to find Michael because he needs help”

“What kind of help?”

“That’s the thing, his phone died before he could tell me but he was determined I tell you or Liz or Isobel that Michael isn’t himself and needs help”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know; I have no idea where Manes was or what happened”

“I’ll call Isobel, see if she can use her psychic link to find him”

 

Max reached for his phone as Liz came over to see what was going on. Kyle filled her in and she immediately removed her headband and apron, clearly already intending to help.

 

“Was Alex okay?” She asked him. He didn’t want to worry her so he nodded his head. “Do uh do you know where he might’ve been? Somewhere Manes and Guerin would go to be alone?”

“As far as I know they were only ever together at Michael’s trailer” she said.

“I might go check out the area just in case. I mean, it sounds like Guerin’s taken off so uh you guys go look for him and I’ll look for Manes”

 

*

 

He hadn’t been to the junkyard in a long time but when he saw Alex’s truck, he was sure the soldier was around somewhere. Kyle jumped out of his car and looked around the deserted junkyard and air stream. Michael’s pickup was still there too.

 

Was this some kind of trick they were playing on him? No, Alex had sounded scared and desperate. He moved toward the trailer but stopped when he thought something didn’t seem right. The trailer appeared to be askew. Kyle glanced around and noticed something underneath it.

 

Nearby was a small rig which he attached to the trailer to shift aside to reveal a hatch, similar to the one he and Alex had found under the hunting cabin. Alex had been hesitant to open that one, was it a good idea for Kyle to open this one? For all he knew this one was equally as abandoned since this land had been a junkyard his entire life… but what were the odds of Michael just happening to park his trailer over a hatch to a secret bunker?

 

He attached the rig to the heavy hatch and carefully pulled it open. He peered down the ladder and saw a prone figure.

 

“Manes?” He called out “is that you?”

But he received no response. “Alex?” He called again, slightly louder. Still no response.

 

Sighing to himself, Kyle swung his leg around and started to make his way down the ladder; once close enough to the bottom, he leapt down to avoid the body clutching the rungs. He turned and gasped when his suspicions proved true, the body he’d seen from above  _ was _ Manes. Lying half twisted on an odd angle without his prosthetic, hands tied together around the rung of the ladder.

 

Kyle carefully moved closer and nudged him with his foot but Alex didn’t even flinch. He reached up and undid the belt, watched as Alex’s arms fell limply to the ground. What had happened down here? He glanced around at all the strange alien tech and realized it must all belong to Michael, that he’d been keeping his trailer on top of the entrance to keep anyone from finding it.

 

Alex finally began to stir and Kyle hurried to his side.

“Manes?” He began “Alex, are you alright?”

“Kyle? What are you doing here?” Alex gasped in shock “you were supposed to be-”

“I was worried about you” he cut him off “Max and Liz are looking for Guerin but… what happened?”

“He’s infected or possessed or something” Alex insisted as he struggled to sit up, wincing in pain whenever he moved.

“What did he do to you?”

“He broke my prosthetic, tried to keep me here from warning anyone… I think I maybe broke his nose”

 

Kyle reached out to help him and was surprised when Alex flinched away from him. He raised his hands in surrender, to show him that he meant no harm then he paused and really looked at his friend.

He’d seen bruises and cuts on him before, in their youth, at school but this was different. Alex was trying so hard to put on a brave face, was lying through his teeth to the point that Kyle wanted to shake him and demand the truth but he knew that wouldn’t work.

 

“Manes… Alex…” he started, kept his voice calm and soothing “what did he do to you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine” Alex insisted, defensively.

“He broke your prosthetic… Is that all he did?”

“Yes! I have a spare in my car, can you please get it for me?”

 

Alex reached into his pocket and handed his keys to Kyle who took them but didn’t get up, not immediately, Alex looked at him with a hard stare.

“Please, Kyle? Can you just get it for me?”

“Tell me what happened first”

“I came to check on him, he started acting weird and I called him on it, told him I’d tell Max something wasn’t right with him and he just snapped… broke my fake leg and took off, left me down here”

“How did you call me if your hands were tied?”

“Asked siri for help”

“Why did you call me?”

“I was too embarrassed to call Liz or Maria especially if I needed help climbing out of here”

“What else aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing” he answered too quickly, top defensively.

“Alex!”

“Nothing, Kyle” Alex insisted through gritted teeth “I’ve told you everything”

“Okay” he didn’t believe him, not for a second but he got to his feet anyway.

 

He watched as Alex struggled to move away from the base of the ladder but he didn’t offer to help, knew Alex was too stubborn and too determined to accept it. Kyle cast one last look at Alex before ascending the ladder and blinked at the bright light that greeted him above.

Kyle unlocked the trunk of the car and located the case, opened it to give the prosthetic a quick once over then closed it again. It wasn’t easy climbing back down with the heavy case but he managed it and now understood why Alex had called him.

 

Once back in the bunker, he put the case on the floor and went looking for the broken one. He found it clear across the room, Guerin had to have used his powers to send it that far. Kyle picked it up, wondered if it was possible to repair it.

 

A hiss of pain sent him back to Alex’s side, kneeling on the floor beside him but the stubborn soldier insisted he was fine. Kyle knew he was lying.

 

“I know you don’t want to tell me what happened down here” Kyle began.

“I  _ told _ you what happened” Alex snapped.

“No, you didn’t… I’m a Doctor, Alex, I’m not an idiot… I can see what he did”

“No! It wasn’t him, Kyle…  _ Michael _ didn’t do this to me, I swear, he didn’t” tears had formed in his eyes and Kyle’s heart broke at the pain he could hear in Alex’s voice. “He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t”

 

Kyle leaned back on his hunches and looked at his distraught friend. Perhaps it was best to humor him for now but that wouldn’t help in the long run though he wasn’t exactly sure what would. Maybe he needed Isobel for this, she’d been possessed in the past, perhaps she could relate?

 

“Michael or not, you’ve been hurt” Kyle said very carefully “physically  _ and _ mentally”

“It’s just a prosthetic, Kyle” Alex stated.

He reached out and grabbed hold of Alex’s hand which caused the soldier to look up and finally meet his eyes.

“You were assaulted, Manes” he insisted “Michael or some alien wearing his body, hurt you, and you can’t just bury your head in the sand and pretend it didn’t happen”

 

Alex’s gaze hardened and he stared right back with the same determination he’d used when they were kids.

“Like Hell I can’t” Alex hissed. He averted his eyes and set about swapping the broken prosthetic for his backup one. He didn’t accept any help from Kyle as he struggled to hoist himself to his feet, grasped the ladder to help him maintain his balance. “Now are you going to help me out of here or not?”

“Of course I am” Kyle sighed. He wasn’t happy about it but his friend needed him and he wasn’t going to let him down again; he never wanted to let Alex down ever again.

 

*****

 

Michael jerked awake, looked around in confusion, having no idea where he was or how he’d gotten there. The sun had vanished beyond the horizon, the stars were just beginning to shine and his face was covered in dirt from having face planted before passing out. He sat up, spitting dirt from his mouth and reached up to wipe his mouth.

 

His hand was now covered in what appeared to be congealed blood and his nose was aching. He carefully touched his nose and swore in pain. What had happened? How had he ended up in the middle of nowhere with no shirt, a broken nose and no memory of how he’d gotten there? He cast his mind back, trying to think of the last thing he could remember. He’d been in his bunker, thinking about how much he missed Alex and was resisting the urge to call him, ask him to stop by. Had he called him?

 

Michael searched his pockets for his phone but couldn’t find it so he slumped back and tried to assess the damage. He could move his arms and legs so that wasn’t an issue, it was really only his nose that ached. Sighing heavily, he climbed to his feet and turned around a few times, hoping to see something he recognized but it was too dark and his head hurt too much to try to read the stars so he slumped down on a nearby rock and closed his eyes, opened his mind and tried to reach out to Max or Isobel but he had no idea if it worked for he passed out not long after.

 

*

 

Max was behind the wheel of his jeep, Isobel sat beside him in the passenger seat while Liz anxiously kicked the back of the driver seat from where she sat in back. They had turned off the main road some time ago and couldn’t see anything around for miles. Both Max and Isobel looked terrified and kept exchanging nervous looks.

 

They didn’t need words to share how worried they were; Max especially as it hadn’t been that long ago he’d been out here in the desert looking for Isobel after one of her blackouts. This was different though, wasn’t it? Kyle’s message hadn’t been very clear, that Alex had said Michael wasn’t himself. What kind of ‘wasn’t himself’ did Alex actually mean?

 

“Stop!” Isobel shrieked and Max slammed on the brakes. “That way!”

 

She yanked off her seatbelt and jumped out of the jeep, Liz was right behind her and the two hurried on a head. Max followed close behind but with his wider stride was able to overtake them. He was the first to reach Michael who was hugging himself and shivering. Max removed his jacket and wrapped it around him.

 

“Michael?” Max greeted him “are you alright?”

“I don’t know what happened, Max” he insisted “I swear, I was… working near the trailer and the next thing I knew I was out here”

“You had a blackout?” Isobel asked as she hugged him tightly.

“I…. I guess. I don’t know”

 

He was still shivering but that may have been the shock.

“What happened to your nose?” Liz asked.

“Miss the part about how I have no idea how I got here, did ya?” Michael snapped.

“Michael!” Max sniped at him.

“It’s okay, Max” Liz replied “so it wasn’t like that last you remember?”

 

Michael shook his head no. 

“You mind healing it for me, Max?” He asked him.

“Oh so this you will let me heal?” Max growled.

“Guys, stop it!” Isobel shot death stares at both of them.

 

They each scowled but Max reached out, placed his hand over Michael’s nose and a moment later it was healed, the pain completely gone. Michael reached up and touched it, reassuring himself all was well again.

 

“So how did you find me so fast?” He asked as the small group started back to Max’s jeep.

“Fast?” Liz repeated “we’ve been looking for you for hours”

“But I only just woke up out here” 

“And we’ve been looking since before sunset”

“How did you know I was missing?”

 

“Kyle” Max spoke up “came into the diner and-“

“Valenti?” Michael was appalled “you listened to that guy?”

“Kyle came into the diner, said Alex wanted him to tell us that you weren’t acting like you”

 

Michael stopped dead in his tracks and Liz, being closest to him, could see the look of utter fear on his face. His eyes began to roam as though he was trying to search his own mind for a memory of what had happened.

 

“Alex” he choked on the name “said I wasn’t me”

“Apparently” Liz confirmed.

“What else did he say?”

“That’s all”

“Well get him on the phone!” Michael practically screamed, fear and unease was building inside him.

 

Liz took out her phone and tried Alex but it immediately diverted to voicemail.

“That’s weird” she said with a frown “he never turns his phone off… unless he forgot to charge it”

“Call Valenti” Michael pushed. Alex not answering his phone sounded like a bad sign.

But Liz was already calling Kyle, they could all hear the sound of his phone as she’d put hers on speaker. Kyle answered on the fourth ring.

 

“Kyle!” She was relieved to hear his voice but wasn’t sure why. Maybe this whole possession thing that her more rattled than she first realized “we found Michael, he was in the middle of the desert but he’s okay”

“Okay” Kyle replied. “Bye”

“Kyle, wait! Have you seen Alex? He’s not answering his phone” she pressed.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him. Can you pass a message onto Guerin for me?” Liz looked at Michael and shrugged, Kyle obviously unaware he was on speaker. “Tell him, if he so much as looks at Manes ever again, I’ll turn him over to Master Sergeant Manes myself”

“Kyle?”

 

But the call ended abruptly when Kyle hung up, his threat hanging in the air for them all to hear. There was no hiding the utter pain on Michael’s face, fearing whatever he’d unwittingly done to make Kyle hold such a threat over him.

 

“Max, take me to Alex, now” Michael declared as he started to run towards Max’s jeep.

Liz and Isobel exchanged a worried look while Max hurried to catch up to Michael, afraid if his brother got to the jeep first he’d hot wire it and leave the three of them out in the middle of the desert in his desperate attempt to get to Alex.

 

The group piled into the jeep and Max started back towards town. Michael turned in the seat and asked Liz where he’d possibly find Alex. She honestly didn’t know what to say. If Alex had been hurt, he might have gone home but there was an equally greater chance that Kyle had taken him to his place to watch over him. If Alex was at Kyle’s then Kyle would not be in the mood for accepting a visit from Michael especially not after the threat he’d just made.

Her heart ached. She didn’t want to be in the middle of this but for Kyle to say what he’d said, he had to be pretty certain Michael had done  _ something  _ to Alex.

 

“Liz!” Michael shouted. She could hear the pain and the fear in his voice. Was he really willing to risk Kyle turning him in? Was Kyle really desperate enough to follow through on the threat?

 

“Liz?” His voice was softer now as he reached his hand into the backseat and grasped hers. “Please? If I did something, anything, to Alex, I need to know”

“I don’t know where they are, honest but if it’s bad… I think he’ll be at Kyle’s”

 

“I have no idea where Valenti lives” Michael confessed, his eyes drawn.

“I do” Max said to him “I’ll take you”

“I’m coming too” Liz added

“Me too” Isobel insisted. “What? You think I want to miss Michael showing a semblance of human emotion?”

 

*****

 

Alex was resting on the couch in Kyle’s living room, his temporary prosthetic on the floor and his leg propped up with pillows. He was hugging another to his chest and staring at the aromatherapy candle that was burning on the coffee table. It had not been his first choice to come here but Kyle had given him an ultimatum, his house or the hospital and Alex had outright refused to go to the hospital.

 

He knew he was in shock, had already experienced it himself a few times over the years and watched his fellow soldiers struggle with it at times but he refused to say it aloud, wouldn’t even let Kyle say the words aloud even though they both knew exactly what had happened down in the bunker. Alex had all but admitted it when he hadn’t argued against Kyle’s use of the word ‘assault’.

 

The worst part for Alex and maybe the most awkward for Kyle had been once he’d settled Alex on his couch, he’d brought it up again but this time as a Doctor not a friend. He’d tried his best to authoritatively insist that Alex needed to be examined after such a trauma but when their eyes met and they each stared at the other, there was a brief flash as they both tried not to imagine such a thing between the two of them. Alex outright said No and Kyle was quick to agree but only once Alex promised to see any other Doctor if something didn’t feel right.

 

Kyle made him a cup of tea which he placed on the table in front of Alex then they both sat in absolute silence and watched as the steam from the drink slowly faded until the tea was stone cold then Kyle poured it down the sink. He made Alex a sandwich and repeated the process until it too went in the garbage. Neither of them said a word even after the sun went down.

 

When Kyle’s phone rang, they both jumped from the shock of the loud noise and Kyle snatched it up but excused himself from the room to answer it. He spoke to Liz very briefly but talk of Michael just made him angry. He hated knowing what the alien had done to Alex and hated knowing he was just going to get away with it. His message to Guerin was loud and clear; stay away from Alex.

 

He fixed himself a whiskey and took a glass into Alex too. The soldiers hand was shaking as he accepted this drink from the doctor but after taking one sip, Alex turned to Kyle.

 

“You can’t turn Guerin over to my dad” he whispered.

“You heard that?” Kyle asked him.

“You can’t turn him in, Kyle”

“Why not? He’s an alien; he covered up Rosa’s death and he hurt you”

“That wasn’t him! Kyle, I swear the thing that did that to me, it wasn’t Guerin. When I looked into his eyes, it wasn’t the man I love staring back at me. The hands that did this, that hurt my body” he sighed “yes they were his but it wasn’t him controlling them… Michael would never do this to me and you know it”

“Alex-“

“You said yourself, Guerin, Max, Isobel… we grew up with them, they’re not bad people”

“They’re not people at all”

“Guerin was the first boy I ever kissed, the first boy I ever loved. I gave him my heart a long, long time ago… He’d never break it like this”

 

“I hate that he hurt you, Manes” Kyle admitted.

“There was a time when you hurt me every day with your harsh words” Alex replied.

“And I’m trying to make amends for that”

“So let him do the same; Kyle, please, you have to understand that Michael didn’t hurt me. Something else out there used him to do this”

“But why?” Kyle couldn’t make sense of it “to what purpose? What could possibly be gained by this? Unless…” he trailed off, deep in thought.

“What? Kyle, what is it?”

“What if it was the forth alien? It's obviously watching Max, Isobel and Guerin… it knows all three of them are close to particular humans. What if… it was some sick twisted way of driving a wedge between the humans who know the truth and the aliens themselves?”

“Kyle-“

“I’m serious, Alex, because finding you like that… God, I wanted to kill him for putting you through all that… tell me, if Max did to Liz what Guerin just did to you, are you going to tell me you wouldn’t want to turn him over to Project Shepherd?”

“But Max didn’t do that to Liz-“

“Exactly… because we would’ve known immediately… Max is a puppy dog, he’s been pining over Liz since grade school. He’d never do that to her”

“So the alien used Guerin” Alex was beginning to understand what Kyle was suggesting “because the only one of us who knows him to not be capable of such a thing… is me, that's why they targeted us”

 

*

 

The loud incessant knocking at Kyle’s front door interrupted their brainstorming and Kyle reluctantly got to his feet, made his way to the door and checked the peephole. He could see Max and Michael on the front stoop and was very tempted to leave it locked. When Liz stepped forward and knocked then started yelling at him, Kyle finally relented.

 

Liz, Max, Michael and Isobel all marched into his home and Kyle immediately felt himself tense. He’d never had even one alien in his home much less three. When he saw Michael, he reached out a hand to stop him.

 

“I thought your nose was meant to be broken?” He asked him.

“Meant to be?” Michael repeated.

“Manes said he thought he broke it.

“I healed it” Max confessed.

“Oh, kay”

 

Kyle didn’t hesitate to throw a punch of his own at Michael but Liz was by his side in a flash to stop him making another.

“Kyle, please?” She begged him.

“Where is he?” Michael asked Kyle.

“Did you not pass on my message?” Kyle asked Liz.

 

“You can turn me in all you want, Valenti” Michael said to him “but I am not leaving here until I see Alex”

“He’s in the living room but if you think I’m going to leave you alone with him…”

 

*

 

Alex could hear the voices from the other room but not loud enough to determine what was being said; he heard Kyle and Liz’s voices the loudest until another caught his attention and he struggled to sit up, to peer over the back of the couch as Michael stepped into the room. Kyle was barely a step behind him.

 

Michael hurried towards him but stopped just shy of the couch, hand outstretched to grasp Alex’s yet he could feel Kyle watching him with a rightful air of hatred. He slowed his approach and lowered his hand.

 

“Alex” he breathed “are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Guerin” Alex replied as he reached out with his hand, willing Michael to come closer and grasp his hand.

“If you’re fine then what are you doing on Valenti’s couch?”

“He wouldn’t believe me when I told him I was fine”

 

Alex tried to sit up higher, to reach further for Michael. Tears formed in his eyes.

“Guerin, will you get over here?” He insisted.

 

Michael slowly moved a step or two closer. Seeing the tears in Alex’s eyes caused them to form in his own. He absolutely hated the idea that he’d hurt his precious Alex in any way yet here they were and Alex was reaching for  _ him _ . Alex was annoyed that Michael wouldn’t take his hand.

 

“Guerin, please?” Alex whispered.

Michael moved closer again but kept the couch between them. He couldn’t hold out any longer and he entwined his fingers with Alex’s then slid his other behind his former lovers neck, gently pulled him closer.

“What did I do to you?” Michael whispered through tear filled eyes.

“Nothing” Alex sobbed “because it wasn’t you”

“Tell me, please? Please Alex, I need to know what I did… how I hurt you”

“You didn’t; it wasn’t you… I looked into your eyes and I knew it wasn’t you”

 

Alex slid his hand into Michael’s curls and pulled him down to meet him, foreheads pressed together, hands clasped while the other was around the others neck. Alex held Michael close but he still didn’t want him to know what had happened between them.

 

“Please, Alex” Michael whispered “don’t make me ask Kyle”

“You broke my prosthetic” Alex admitted “then tied me up and left me trapped in your bunker”

“I’m sorry, Alex, I’m so sorry”

“It wasn’t you, Guerin, I know it wasn’t you”

“I uh can pay for a new one…”

“No you can’t but I appreciate the gesture”

“I’m so sorry this happened Alex, I swear when we find this alien, I’m going to make them pay for what they did… I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you, Alex”

 

He let out a small sob and shook his head. With an admittance like that, Alex knew he could never tell Michael the truth of what the alien had done to him in the bunker, not now, not ever.

He took a deep breath and placed a kiss to Michael’s lips.

 

“Promise me, no matter what happens, you won’t look away” Alex sobbed.

“Never, Alex, I’ll never look away from you ever again”

 

Alex closed his eyes. It wasn’t going to be easy keeping a secret such as this but he had to. He needed to protect Michael from himself and his own anger. If Michael ever learned the truth, it would break him and Alex would never allow that to happen. 

Now it was his turn to protect Michael and he wasn’t going to fail him, not again. He loved Michael with all his heart and not even a forth alien wearing Michael’s body would ever change that. If this alien intended to drive them apart, they’d failed for all they’d done was remind them both how they truly felt for each other and Alex would do anything to protect the man he loved even if the enemy lurking in the shadows was his own father.

 

It was his mission now to protect Michael, Max & Isobel from those who wanted them dead. Lucky for them, Alex had never failed a mission and he wasn’t about to start now.


End file.
